Eyes in the Darkness
by Drako the Black Dragon
Summary: Have you ever felt like you were being watched? What if you were--and the thing watching you had a bone to pick with your Clan? HIATUS
1. New Apprentices

**CHAPTER ONE**

Dracokit was so excited, he felt like he would explode. He sat on the Highrock next to his mother and siblings behind the Clan leader. At last, the moment was here! He had almost thought this day would never come.

It seemed like hours until it was finally moonhigh. Eveningstar called out to the Clan, "All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey, gather below the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Within seconds, nearly every cat in the FrostClan camp had come together to hear her speak. She turned her head to the three kits behind her. "Step forward," she mewed.

Songkit walked forward shyly, head bent in submission. Her pretty blue-gray coat sparkled in the light reflected from the icy walls of the cave. Batkit gave a bolder approach, his head held high. Then it was the enthusiastic Dracokit's turn. He bounded forward, nearly slipping off the icy rock. Eveningstar pushed him back gently with her tail. The yellowish brown tom dipped his head in embarrassment as his brother snickered.

Eveningstar shot a warning glance at him before continuing. "You three are all six moons old and ready to begin Warrior training. Songkit, you will now be known as Songpaw. Your mentor will be Gallopingbreeze." A pale brown tabby picked his way out of the crowd below and climbed to the top, touching noses with his apprentice. "Batkit, your new name will be Batpaw. You will have Whitesand as your mentor." A black-and-white tom did the same for him. "And Dracokit," the young tom couldn't help but hold his breath as Eveningstar said his name, "You will be called Dracopaw. You will be taught by Silvermist." A sleek grey she-cat was making her way toward him. He was so happy by the time she got there that their noses collided with a painful thud. "Ouch," Silvermist giggled, "Watch it!"

The cats below cheered, shouting the three's new names. "Songpaw! Batpaw! Dracopaw!"

The warriors led their apprentices to their den. "Training begins tomorrow," Gallopingbreeze said, "Get some rest. You'll need it."

"Dracopaw. Hey, Dracopaw. Dracopaw! WAKE UP, YA LAZYBONES!!!" His eyes burst open as he was jolted awake by Batpaw. "Good. You're up."

Sunlight streamed into the apprentice's den. Batpaw kept talking, not caring whether or not Dracopaw was listening. "You almost overslept and got us all in real trouble. All the other apprentices are up already. Songpaw, Stagpaw, Talonpaw, Shellpaw, Amberpaw… All six of us were up at the crack of dawn. But you weren't. Not that you were missed or anything, but…"

"Oh, Batpaw, would you quit your yapping? Our mentors will be here any second!"

The irritated voice belonged to Amberpaw, a she-cat who had gone into training moons before they had. She was almost a warrior, as were her sister and two brothers. And she was right. It wasn't long before the seven mentors came. It was time to begin training.


	2. Extinguished Flame

**CHAPTER TWO**

Sharp stalked through the undergrowth, keeping low to avoid being seen by a FrostClan patrol. There she was. Eveningstar. If his sources were correct, she'd just last night held a ceremony for three new warriors to be appointed. _"I hope she enjoyed herself_," he thought with a smirk, "_It was the last one she'll ever have."_ Eveningstar just barely had time to turn around before he pounced upon her, digging his claws into her blue-grey sides. She yowled in pain and rolled over. But this was just what he had been waiting for… As she flipped, he opened his jaws, closing them around her throat as her neck came close.

Dracofang. He couldn't stop thinking about his new name. What a perfect way to start off the season! This would, undoubtedly, be the happiest newleaf he'd ever had.

Or would it? The Clan's medicine cat, Fernpelt, raced into camp with a horrified expression on his face. Fernpelt was normally very calm. What could have possibly gotten him so worked up? Dracofang watched as the golden brown tom dashed over to the deputy. His voice cracked with shock as he spoke. "Redeye! Redeye! Oh, Redeye, it's horrible! Come with me!" The two cats ran out of the camp without another word.

"What was that all about?" Stagracer wondered aloud. For once, Whitesand wore a serious look on his face as he answered, "I don't know, but it must be pretty bad."

It was pretty bad. No, that's a massive understatement. It was really, really, REALLY bad. . Redeye gave the Clan the news that night. Their leader was dead, and he'd make the trip to the Sunstone tomorrow. It was a restless and rainy night, and one topic dominated all others when a certain group of cats shared tongues in the hollow of a fallen elm…

"Who killed Eveningstar?" asked Batwings, brimming with rage. "When I get my paws on them, I'll…I'll…uhh…I'll…"

"You'll what?" Amberclaw challenged. "That's the problem with you: you're all bark and no bite. You couldn't put a scratch on a fly if you tried."

"I could too! I bet all the fresh-kill I catch tomorrow I could beat you in a match! I'm bigger than you, after all."

"Yeah, bigger headed." The tawny she-cat got to her feet. "Why don't you take me on, right now?"

"Sure. Bring it!" Batwings pounced on her, and within seconds the two were rolling on the floor, locked in combat. "Guys, cut it out!" Talonscratch hissed. "Do you want Redeye to catch you doing this?!"

"Catch you doing what?" All seven of them flinched at their new leader's voice. "Oh…" mewed Batwings, "Hi…Redeye…When…When did you get here?"

"I saw the whole thing," the dark brown tom growled in response, "We just lost our leader, and you two are fighting each other over a petty argument like that? We can't afford to lose two more cats over something that pointless. Life is like a tiny flame. When you take risks, you blow gently on it. Blow on it too much…" he trailed off.

"...And the fire goes out," Stagracer finished for him. Shellfur dipped her head. "Understood, leader Redeye. It won't happen again," She shot a warning glance at Batwings and Amberclaw.

"I should hope so. If I catch you two at it again, I'm confining both of you to camp for a day." With a flick of his tail, their new leader ran off into the rain.


	3. Brightstar's Promise

**CHAPTER THREE**

Redstar's words still echoed in Dracofang's head days after they had been said. He was still thinking about them when the new deputy, Heronstorm, brought him and Amberclaw a message.

"Redstar has chosen both of you to come to the Gathering tonight at moonhigh." Before they could respond, the speckled tom bounded off to tell the other chosen warriors that they had been picked. "Humph," Amberclaw scoffed, "It would take him 5 seconds longer to at least chat with us about it… Ugh, why are all males so impatient nowadays?"

Dracofang didn't respond, despite the fact that her remark applied to him too. He knew that by doing so, he'd only get her going into a very long, highly insulting speech about toms like him. They'd known each other long enough for him to know that there were no exceptions to this rule. So he just sighed quietly and padded off to the warriors' den.

Batwings greeted him at the entrance. "So, Dracofang, I heard you got picked to go to the Gathering." Was that a hint of envy in his voice? "Tell me about it when you get back."

**=X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X=**

A yowl from Redstar silenced the pointless chatter beneath and signaled the start of the Gathering. His crimson eyes glowed with grief and rage as he delivered the terrrible news to the other Clans. "FrostClan lost Eveningstar recently to an unidentified rogue cat. I have taken her place as leader." EmberClan's leader, Smolderstar snorted half-amusedly. "So she's dead? I heard she clung to her ninth life for quite some time, if I'm correct."

Redstar looked at him suspiciously. What was he trying to say?

"She began to seem almost immortal, did she not? And yet still… She's dead."

Nettlestar, StoneClan's leader, was bristling. "Why do you torment them? Not only Redstar, but also every cat in FrostClan has suffered a great loss! And yet still, here you are taunting them and trying to provoke a fight!"

Mews of agreement rose from almost every cat gathered. However, the EmberClan cats stayed strangely quiet…

Brightstar, leader of WoodClan, cleared his throat loudly to grab their attention. "We are all very sorry for your Clan, Redstar. Some of us just show it less than others." Smolderstar bared his teeth, but Brightstar didn't appear to take any notice. "On a happier note, Foxnose of my Clan has had her kits. The four of them are healthy and we hope they will grow into strong warriors.

Redstar took a deep breath. "Before Eveningstar's death, she appointed three new warriors. Their names are Dracofang, Batwings, and Songbird."

"Don't you guys have anything interesting to talk about?!" Smolderstar snapped. "EmberClan's territory is being steadily destroyed, and here you are babbling about the so-called future of the forest! Don't you realize that there isn't going to _be _a forest anymore if we don't stand up and do something about it?!"

Brightstar's blue eyes shone with concern. "Smolderstar, calm down. What do you mean your territory is being destroyed?"

"I mean exactly what I said! The Twolegs are taking over our hunting grounds!"

"That's terrible," the white leader of WoodClan mewed comfortingly. "Is there anything my Clan can do to help you?"

"Don't even offer," Nettlestar meowed. "It's probably just a lie he's telling so he can steal your prey."

Before Smolderstar could bark something back, Brightstar spoke. "Nonsense! I can see the truthfulness in his face. He and his Clan are hungry, and WoodClan has plenty of food to spare. Smolderstar, I give EmberClan hunting patrols permission to use our territory if need be."

Smolderstar grinned, Redstar growled deep in his throat, Nettlestar muttered something under her breath, and the assembled EmberClan warriors yowled their glee while the cats from other Clans yowled at an equal intensity their disapproval.


End file.
